The House at the Bottom of the Hill Read Online Free PDF Page A

ground and looked up at the creamy facade, the bronzed trim, and the curly signage on the window. ‘ La Crème Parfaite. Cherishing the woman within ,’ she read aloud, wondering how much cherishing the women of Swallow’s Fall demanded. Obviously not much, since the place was locked up. She stepped closer to see what was written beneath. The font, a small italic, read, For women passing through and those stuck here.
    She spluttered a laugh. Someone with spirit had written this. It lifted her mood, a heartfelt, fun moment she hadn’t expected.
    ‘Who owns this place?’ she asked.
    Daniel was studying her, his smile tinged with surprise.
    Charlotte scowled and picked up the sack. Across the road, a blonde got out of a little sports car. Elegant wasn’t the right word for her … perhaps sleek suited. She looked about Charlotte’s age but a lot trendier.
    ‘There she is now,’ Daniel said. ‘The beauty parlour owner.’
    ‘Who is she?’
    ‘Julia Morelly.’
    The woman moved to the back of the car. She reminded Charlotte of a gazelle—long neck, slim legs, thin arms and wrists and there was a casualness in the way she moved, as though she were out shopping for silk scarves on Bond Street, not running a beauty parlour in a miniscule alpine town in the Snowy Mountains. She opened the boot of her car and took out a stroller. Slamming the boot closed, she unfolded the stroller, locked it into place, pulled the sunhood down and turned. She pushed the empty stroller along the road, upended its front wheels with seeming care as she wheeled it up the pavement and headed for the stock feeders’.
    ‘What’s she doing?’ Charlotte asked.
    ‘Practising.’
    ‘For what?’
    ‘Having a baby.’
    ‘She’s pregnant?’
    ‘No, she’s practising.’
    Charlotte checked his face to see if he was joking.
    ‘Julia’s got a sperm donor in Canberra. She wants a baby and he said he’ll give her one.’
    Charlotte raised an eyebrow. ‘That sounds a little calculated.’
    ‘Nah. You’ll understand when you get to know her. She’s had a lot of boyfriends. Got fed up with men and came home a year ago. Opened up this place, although she doesn’t get many customers wanting her fancy treatments, so she decided it was the right time to become a mother.’
    ‘Is this man going to help with the child? Or is it a business arrangement?’
    Daniel shrugged. ‘All I know is they don’t do it.’
    ‘Don’t do what?
    ‘ It . They have it … you know …’ He grinned. ‘Medically done.’
    Ah. It . ‘IVF,’ she said in a serious tone.
    ‘Yeah.’ His grin and narrowed eyes spoke a dozen silent but explicit words. ‘Boring, huh?’ He stood there, all lean beef and brawn, the dazzling smile and laidback demeanour pronouncing sex , sex , sex . Could he do that on purpose too? Make a woman think about sex?
    Okay, so it wasn’t just coffee she was missing.
    Charlotte moved off smartish in case the heat on her face showed up as a blush. Titian red and pink wasn’t the best colour match. ‘This is one strange town,’ she muttered.
    ‘It’s taken you two whole weeks to discover that?’ There was a laugh in his tone as he followed her.
    Charlotte walked past the grocer’s—she’d pop out later and get the coffee and milk; couldn’t carry everything now anyway. She walked straight past Morelly’s hardware store too, even though the doors were open and the copious, dusty-smelling shelves would house any number of Phillips head screwdrivers. Young Mr Morelly chatted effusively to a customer. Young was obviously a euphemism for pensioner who wouldn’t retire. He had to be close to seventy.
    ‘Didn’t you want a Phillips head for all that screwing you’re going to be doing?’ Daniel asked.
    Charlotte ignored him. Not worthy of a sensible woman’s answer.
    The door to Kookaburra’s was propped open too—and there was that tantalising smell. Dark cocoa-flavoured roasted coffee beans. She slowed and sniffed the air,